Ambulatory amusement and exercise device

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an ambulatory, amusement and exercise device of unitary construction for balancing and ambulating. The ambulatory, amusement and exercise device has two shoe holders molded therein near the ends of a semicircular rod. Each shoe holder has a depressed heel section, whereby the device may be propelled forwardly by alternately pushing forwardly on the raised front of each heel section. Closer to the center of the semicircular rod, two legs are molded, so as to be perpendicular to the longitudinal length of the semicircular rod. The legs are also made perpendicular to the surface of the shoe holders. The semicircular rod has a honeycomb construction to provide strength yet light weight for the device.

Unite States atet Judkins et al.

[4 1 Dec. 17, 1974 AMBULATORY AMUSEMENT AND EXERCISE DEVICE Inventors: Herbert T. Judkins, R.R. No. 3 Box 235-A-l6, Soddy, Tenn. 37379; Lucian C. Miller, 1903 Leonhard St., Dayton, Ohio 45404 Filed: May 25, 1973 Appl. No.: 363,848

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 181,309, Sept. 17, 1971, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 878,388, Nov. 20, 1969, abandoned.

US. Cl. 272/70, 272/1 R, 272/57 R, 273/DIG. 4 Int. Cl A63b 23/04 Field of Search 272/1 R, 57 R, 57 A, 57 D, 272/57 J, 60 R, 70, 85; 182/46; 280/218, 291; D34/5 K References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Turner l. 272/57 .1

3,260,522 7/1966 White et a1. l 2.72/85 3,438,626 4/1969 Modla 272/70 D189,826 2/1961 Katz 272/70 LIX Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo Assistant Examiner-R. T. Stouffer Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John P. Tarlano [5 7 ABSTRACT The present invention relates to an ambulatory,

amusement and exercise device of unitary construction for balancing and ambulating. The ambulatory, amusement and exercise device has two shoe holders molded therein near the ends of a semicircular rod. Each shoe holder has a depressed heel section, whereby the device may be propelled forwardly by alternately pushing forwardly on the raised front of each heel section. Closer to the center of the semicircular rod, two legs are molded, so as to be perpendicular to the longitudinal length of the semicircular rod. The legs are also made perpendicular to the surface of the shoe holders. The semicircular rod has a honeycomb construction to provide strength yet light weight for the device.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENTEU m1 W4 3; 854.7 1 7r F'iGnZ INVENTOR HERB RT TJUDKIH ILUCIAN c. MILLER THEIR ATTORUEY AMBULATORY AMUSEMENT AND EXERCISE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 181,309, filed Sept. 17, 1971, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 878,388, filed Nov. 20, 1969, now abandoned.

In the prior art a beam is provided which joins two legs and two shoe holders together. The beam may be solid or have trusses therein.

The present invention has two legs and two shoe holders all joined together by a semicircular rod. The semicircular rod has honeycomb designed ribs on its concave surface to provide strength to the device. The device may therefore be made very strong yet light weight. The shoe holder on which more than half the weight of a persons body has been placed has a ridge along its outer edge to prevent the person from slipping sideways thereoff. The raised leg may be brought down to the walking surface by placing half the weight of the riders body on its associated shoe holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an exercise device of a unitary construction for balance development and amusement comprising; a semicircular rod having a longitudinal rib and transverse ribs on the concave surface thereof, a hollow right and left leg molded to the concave surface near the two ends of said semicircular rod, a longitudinal brace between the longitudinal rib and each leg to give the legs stability on the semicircular rod, a right and left shoe holder molded at the ends of the semicircular rods, two transverse braces between each shoe holder and its adjacent leg to support the shoe holders above the legs on said semicircular rod, anda transverse brace connected to each of said legs and the edge portions of the semicircular rod adjacent each leg to further support said legs on said semicircular rod.

An object of the present invention is to provide an amusement device being a unitary construction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for balance development in children which is made from a strong structural foam.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the exercise device of the present invention from the heel or rear thereof.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the exercise device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a end elevational view of the exercise device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the semicircular rod of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a hollow leg.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a shoe holder of the exercise device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, a 24 inch long semicircular rod 10, a 3 inch long cylindrical right leg 12 and a 3 inch long cylindrical left leg 14 are molded together in a unitary construction to form exercise device 40. The distance between the right and left legs is approximately 12 inches. The semicircular rod 10 is a half of a plastic tube 1 /2 inch in external diameter and 1% inch in internal distance. The semicircular rod 10 has transverse ribs 13 therein. The right and left legs 12 and 14 and semicircular rod are constructed to be removable from a plastic mode. The hollow legs 12 and 14 have plastic plugs 15 and 17 therein to provide closed right and left legs. The semicircular rod has a longitudinal rib 8 therein to provide strength against bowing of the semicircular rod 10 during operation of exercise device 40.

The legs 12 and 14 have rubber caps 33 and 35, to protect slipping of the legs 12 and 14 on a walking surface during ambulation with the exercise device 40 of the present invention. Bells 9 are attached to the device 40 to provide sound as the rider walks on the device 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, a right shoe holder 18 is molded to the rod 10 between the right leg 12 and the right end 19 of said semicircular rod 10. The right shoe holder 18 is made of /2 inch thick structural foam plastic. The shoe holder 18 bends around the rod 10 to form a right heel catch 22. The heel section 32 of the right shoe holder 18 is 3 /2 inches by 3 /2 inches. The sole section 31 of the right shoe holder 18 is 8 inches by 3 /2 inches. The area of the right shoe holder 18 is perpendicular to said right leg 12. The right shoe holder 18 extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of said rod 10. The right shoe holder 18 is molded to the semicircular rod 10 at the points where the right shoe holder 18 bends around the rod 10, to form the heel catch 22. Longitudinal braces 27 further hold the right leg and the right shoe holder 18 to the semicircular rod 10.

A left shoe holder 20 is similarly molded to the rod 10, between the left leg 14 and the left end 21 of the semicircular rod 10. The surface of the left shoe holder 20 is perpendicular to the left leg 14. The left shoe holder extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said rod 10. A ridge 31 is formed on the upper surface of the left shoe holder 20. A left heel catch 24 is formed in the left shoe holder 20, at a point where the left shoe holder 20 passes rearwardly and downwardly over said rod 10 to form heel section 34. The bells 9 are attached to the ends 19 and 21 of the device 40.

As shown in FIG. 3, transverse braces are molded to the right and left legs 12 and 14 and to the lower surface 7 of the semicircular rod 10. The transverse braces 80 give support to right and left legs 12 and 14 on the semicircular rod 10.

FIG. 4 shows the honeycomb construction of the semicircular rod 10. The rib 8 is molded longitudinally on the concaxe surface 7 of the semicircular rod 10.

FIG. 3 shows ridge 29 on the outside longitudinal edge of the right shoe holder 18. The right ridge 29 is molded in the right shoe holder 18. The right ridge 29 is about one-half inch above the upper surface of the right shoe holder. The right ridge 29 prevents the right shoe of a rider from slipping off sideways thereof when the left shoe holder 20 is raised.

FIG. 5 shows the construction of the hollow leg 12. A plug 15 fits into the cavity of the hollow leg 12 after device 40 is molded.

The device 40 of FIG. 1 has a wall thickness of about one-half inch at every point thereon. The unitary constructed device 40 can therefore be molded in a short period of time in a mold. A suitable material from 'which to mold the device 40 is structural foam. Such a foam is composed of polyethylene with nitrogen bubbles in the interior thereof. The nitrogen forms walls in the interior of the device 40 to make the device 40 strong yet light weight. The process for molding with structural foam is described in US. Pat. No. 3,268,636 issued Aug. 23, 1966.

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of shoe holder 18. Transverse braces 30 are molded to the lower surface of the shoe holder 18 and to the right leg 12. The structure of the right shoe holder 18 is shown in greater detail. Protrusions 70 are shown on the upper surface of the right shoe holder 18. The protrusions tend to make the top surface of the shoe holder 18 less slippery.

The operation of the exercise device 40 of FIG. 2 is as follows. When more than half the weight of a rider, balanced upon the exercise device 40, is shifted to either shoe holder 18 or 20, the leg associated with the opposite shoe holder is raised from a walking surface. When more than half the weight of a rider is placed on the right shoe holder 18, the left leg 14 is raised upwardly off the walking surface 30. The left shoe holder 20 thus rotates upwardly around cap 33 on the right leg 12. The cap 33 on the right leg 12 acts as a rotating point on which is then supported all of the weight of the rider. The right shoe holder 18, which supports more of the weight of the rider than the left shoe holder 20,

' is slightly rotated downwardly toward the walking surface as the left shoe holder 20 is rotated upwardly from the walking surface 30.

At this time, the left shoe holder 20, having heel catch 24, may be moved forward by pushing forward on the left heel catch 24 with the left heel of the riders left shoe. The left shoe holder 20 is moved forwardly, in a horizontal plane, around the right leg 12. After the rod 10 has been rotated, in a horizontal plane, by a desired angle, such as 20, from the initial position, the weight of the rider is again placed by the rider evenly between the left shoe holder 20 and the right shoe holder 18. The weight of the rider may be then shifted more upon the left shoe holder 20, to raise the right shoe holder 18. The raised right shoe holder 18 may then be moved forward, by pushing forwardly on the raised right heel catch 22, using the right shoe of the rider. The right leg 12 of the exercise device 40 may be moved forwardly up to or past the forward most position of the left leg 14 of the exercise device 40.

What is claimed is: v

1. An exercise device of a unitary construction for balance development and amusement, comprising:

a. A straight substantially semicircular rod;

b. A right leg and a left leg molded on the concave surface of the semicircular rod near the two ends of the straight substantially semicircular rod; and

c. A right shoe holder and a left shoe holder each of which has a heel section and a sole section, with the upper surface of each sole section being coplanar with the convex surface of said semicircular rod near the ends of said rod, and the upper surface of each heel section being lower than the upper surface of each corresponding sole section. 

1. An exercise device of a unitary construction for balance development and amusement, comprising: a. A straight substantially semicircular rod; b. A right leg and a left leg molded on the concave surface of the semicircular rod near the two ends of the straight substantially semicircular rod; and c. A right shoe holder and a left shoe holder each of which has a heel section and a sole section, with the upper surface of each sole section being coplanar with the convex surface of said semicircular rod near the ends of said rod, and the upper surface of each heel section being lower than the upper surface of each corresponding sole section. 